Sharecroppers were required to give most of their crops to the farm owners in exchange for the land and opportunity at stability. Unfortunately, the transaction wasn't quite that simple. This portion of the song shows the close relationship between the large-farm owners and the banks. They formed a symbiotic relationship and depended on one another for survival. In other words, the bank needed the profit of the farmers just as much as the farmers needed the support of the banks to drive out the tenants.
